Case Study: Atholl Glens Organic Beef and Lamb
The whole being greater than the sum of its parts is a cliché that could be applied to many estates but never has it been more applicable to Atholl than since the creation of Atholl Glens Organic Beef and Lamb.
The opportunity of over half the estate farms converting to organic production at the same time was an invitation to share not only the learning experience of conversion but also the risks of marketing produce directly to the consumer. And so in the summer of 2004, six tenant and two in hand farms signed up to a co-operative with a vision of marketing the highest quality organic meat by mail order to discerning customers willing to pay top prices for produce direct from the farm.
Recollecting those early days, it all seemed so easy. A website, a phone number and a few shows was all it would take to empty the freezers. After all, we knew our product was excellent.
But reality soon hit and it became increasingly clear every penny of margin was a hard won fight over high unit costs of production, competitive markets and effective promotions. Quality of presentation became a routine drama with our cutting and packaging service providers who viewed our obsession with consistency as bordering on neurotic compared to their regular clients.
However, farmers on Atholl are nothing if not tenacious and with their fourth anniversary of production approaching they can look back on their experience with a well earned sense of pride and accomplishment. Saturday morning farmers market rotas, frantic pre Christmas box packaging sessions and routine trips across the country to sell at national food shows are but a few memories that probably seem more amusing in retrospect than at the time.
But could the system have made the infancy of this perfect example of local food development less challenging? In many ways it could. Our regional schools and hospitals should be feeding nothing other than locally produced wholesome meat to the people in their care. Local Authorities and Health Trusts hide behind the independent procurement process introduced to provide best value when the actual cost difference per head between local organic meat and imported conventional is less than 20 pence per meal.
And what incentive or guidance are the regions being shown when it is quite probable that institutions across Scotland, including the Scottish Parliament are serving meat in their canteens that almost certainly has never seen the green fields or purple hills of our land?
Atholl Glens has established itself in the market and will now grow into a vital and valuable tool for the sustainability of agriculture in Highland Perthshire but its start and future would be made so much easier with the genuine support and collaboration of the public sector. Lets hope those mechanisms are in place before the next intrepid group of farmers embark on the fascinating, frustrating but at times thrilling experience of direct marketing.
